Scuba Diving Pattaya - Dive Thailand - Dive South East Asia

For diving, the Gulf of Siam has some outstanding marine environments, and Pattaya, with it's surrounding islands, certainly has it's share. We have an abundance of hard and soft corals, countless species of marine life, and some of the only wrecks found in Thai waters.

The Pattaya bay area is fortunate in that it's weather and sea conditions allow year-round diving, unlike some of the lower Gulf areas and the west coast Andaman sea areas that are generally limited to approximately late November to early May.

Dive South East Asia offers a unique speedboat service to our customers, allowing the diver to complete a two tank-dive trip to either near or far island (including the wreck dive HTMS Khram) in as little as three and a half hours! No other dive operator in Pattaya can offer this service; the closest would take over seven hours! The way it works is that our main dive boat (the largest in Pattaya) leaves the pier at 8:30am and returns at approximately 5pm. Our speedboat leaves the beach at Soi Post office at 11am to rendezvous the 'Big Boat' at any one of our multiple dive locations.

This trip takes between 10-15 min depending on whether the 'Big Boat" is at near or far Islands. The speedboat then leaves the 'big Boat' to make a one-tank dive at the HTMS Khram back to the 'Big Boat' to pick up any other diver that wishes to return, then straight back to Pattaya by 2:30pm! This service allows the diver to tailor make their dive trip whether you want to spend all-day and make multiple dives, half day (That's out on the 'big Boat' then back on the speedboat or visa versa), or just fly out and back for a one tank at the HTMS Khram, then a coral reef dive in just a few hours, up to you! Dive South East Asia aims to give the diver the best choice and service that money can buy.

The marine environment in the region consists of islands surrounded by abundant and impressive hard corals with some species of soft coral. The marine life is extremely varied and quite prolific with clowns, butterflies, tangs, damsels, groupers, snappers, morays and stingrays to name just a few. It is characterized by a noticeable lack of large pelagic. However, these can be found further south along our coastline and often seen on our trips to the Ko Chang islands which take a total of 3-4 days per round trip.

Whale shark sightings have also been noted on these trips. Nurse sharks, black tips, blue-spotted rays and turtles are seen on almost every dive. Dive depths vary from 3 metres close to the islands down to 15-18 metres where the coral begins to peter out. Generally, the best and most colourful coral dives take place between 6 - 15 metres. Wreck dive depths are between 18 - 40 metres.

The Near Islands

The near islands are a cluster of three islands 5-7km off Pattaya Beach. The islands are Koh Sak, Koh Larn and Koh Khrok. Although the near islands are the most heavily dived sites in the area, we have noticed a marked improvement in visibility and soft coral growth over the past three years.

Koh Sak 5-20m depth, varied topography for several types of dives. . Nearly always has a turtle.

Koh Larn--Laem Tong ("Golden Bay"): 6-18m depth, outstanding site with a series of small walls, definite line dividing hard and soft corals, tawny nurse sharks and spotted rays often seen.

Koh Larn Vak 3-12m depth, contains a set of vertical concrete pipes teeming with coral, some small caves, good for drift dives.

Koh Larn--Shark Point 5-25m depth, nice reef with variety of hard corals, sea fans and associated life. Nurse sharks are spotted on nearly every dive.

Far Islands

Far Islands consists of three islands about 15km off Pattaya beach.

Koh Phai 10-30 metres depth, the only dive here is the HTMS Khram **see wreck dives below

Koh Man Wichai 5-20m depth, small walls highlighted by hard and soft corals. Diverse marine life including angel, butterfly, and pipefish. Popular site for turtles.

Samae San: The sites off Samae San offer some of the best diving in the area.

Shark Fin Rock a rocky ridge with good presence of hard corals, barrel sponges and gorgonian sea fans. Marine life includes large rays and turtles.

Koh Chang where divers will find beautiful underwater scenery with hard coral, black corals, sea whips, sea combs, and large schools of reef fishes such as jacks, bat fishes, etc.

WRECK SITES

HTMS Khram

HTMS Khram(Former USS LSM-469) was sunk on 1 February 2003. It lies about 300 metres from Kah Phi in 30 metres of water.

Depth to the top of the wreck15 meters; depth to sea bed 30 metres and visibility 5-15 metres The Kharm has been well prepared by the Thai Navy as a dive site Large holes have been cut in many areas and penetration dives through the ships passageways rarely takes the diver out of natural light. For further information on the former USS LSM-469

The Hardeep wreck

One of the most popular wreck sites is the Hardeep. It lies at approximately 27 - 30 metres depending on tide level. It is a very safe penetration dive due to the large open cargo holds. The historical story relates that Chanute dive-bombers during the WWII Japanese occupation sank it.

LARGER PICTURE OF HARDEEP HERE

The Petchaburi Bremen

Another wreck is the Petchburi Bremen, which lies in approximately 18-21 metres. A fire in the engine room buckled the side-plates and it sank slowly to the bottom, settling upright on it's keel. Unfortunately, Thai UDT teams used it for demolition practice causing considerable damage to it's hull, but it's still an interesting wreck dive.

Chinese wrecks

There are several 600-year-old sunken Chinese wrecks in the area. All are classified as national treasures so don't touch! Thai authorities are very strict on this matter and legal consequences are costly!

Visibility on all types of dives ranges between 6-30 metres depending on time of year, weather, sea conditions and currents (which are usually very mild). Pattaya is blessed with very good weather conditions, so we are able to dive throughout the year with very little interference from inclement weather.